Anthony's Pants

Did I ever tell you that I set my clothes out the night before an important event? 

I follow this rule especially when the event takes place early in the morning. 

I reason to myself that the more steps I can clear out of the way the night before will save me time during the morning.  (the real reason of course is so I can get more sleep).

This past Sunday, my plan backfired...as I almost went through with a fashion faux pas.

Walking to my car Sunday morning, ready to preach, Bible in hand...

(...these are not my pants...)

I looked down to see that my tie (blue and red striped), my shirt (deep red) and my brown shoes & belt looked kind of GQish. 

But something was off. 

When I stepped out into the sunlight that morning, my Navy Blue pants that I laid out the night before suddenly turned Black!  Already running late, I had a decision to make. 

Use the outfit as a sermon illustration.  Or change. 

Don't worry, I changed.

I guess it is important that when you pick out your clothes, you turn the light on. 

Isn't it wild how much Navy Blue resembles Black?   

A friend of mine told me that they run into this problem all the time. 

So they always have a little test they perform when choosing clothes that are this color.

They simply get the 2 colors and hold them right next to one another, so they can be sure that they are picking out the correct pair of pants. 

The Apostle Paul says, "Examine everything carefully & hold fast to that which is good." 

Using discernment these days is tough.  That is why it is so important to know the Word of God; to hide it in your heart.  In the same way that I needed to hold the Navy Blue pants right next to the Black ones, is the same thing you and I need to do with the decisions we make on a daily basis.  Use the Bible as your source of authority when navigating the many twists & turns of life!

Tidbit: 

*Another good example is how the FBI trains its employees to catch counterfeit bills. 

You might guess that they spend their time going through the numerous fakes bills. But they don't.  They run the real cash through their future FBI's fingers. In this way, they get a feeling for the real thing.  Then, when a fake comes their way, they can spot it in a instant!

  

Seth Godin's 5 (awesome) PowerPoint Tips

-Communication is the Transfer of Emotion-

Seth Godin

Picture this: Your in a meeting. Your eyes are glazed over.  You smile but you don't know what you are smiling at. You hear noises coming from a person in a business suit.

 
Or

Your sitting in class. Your iPhone is on vibrate.  Your tapping your pencil against your notebook.  You hear noises coming from a person standing up in front of the class. 

Do you know where you are?
Of course you do.
--- You are sitting through another brain busting PowerPoint presentation. 

 

PowerPoint is one of our societies greatest tools to effectively communicate, however, most people get it dead wrong.  Below, Seth Godin (if you never heard of him, trust me it is time that you did) shares his ideas about presenting effectively.

-Communication is about getting others to adopt your point of view, to help them understand why you’re excited (or sad, or optimistic or whatever else you are.)
If all you want to do is create a file of facts and figures, then cancel the meeting and send in a report.

Think about it like this:
Our brains have two sides.

The right side is emotional, musical and moody.

The left side is focused on dexterity, facts & hard data.

When you show up to give a presentation, people want to use both parts of their brain. So they use the right side to judge the way you talk, the way you dress and your body language. Often, people come to a conclusion about your presentation by the time you’re on the second slide. After that, it’s often too late for your bullet points to do you much good.

With this in mind, here are the five rules you need to remember to create amazing PowerPoint presentations

1.No more than 6 words on a slide. EVER. There is no presentation so complex that this rule needs to be broken.


2.No cheesy images.


3.No dissolves, spins or other transitions. These just make you look like your in the 2nd grade.


4.Sound effects can be used a few times per presentation, but never use the sound effects that are built in to the program. Instead, rip sounds and music from Cd's and leverage the *Proustian effect this can have. If people start bouncing up and down to the Grateful Dead, you’ve kept them from falling asleep, and you’ve reminded them that this isn’t a typical meeting you’re running.

5.Don’t hand out print-outs of your slides before you start.  People will spend their time trying to read through them while you present.  Give a summary sheet after your done.

 

There you have it!  And if these 5 rules are too much for you to remember.  Then use this 1 rule.  K.I.S.S.  Keep it simple stupid (or as we say in the church, keep it simple saint).

 

Less is more with PowerPoint. So, when you communicate, don't just think of yourself & your information, think of your audience!

*What is the Proustion Effect? It's what happens in your brain when a smell unleashes a flood of memories, taking you back to a particular time and place...(pretty cool huh?) 

Funny Friday's: The Topic, "punched in the face"

The customer (DOES NOT) come 1st

     

We have all heard the quote, "Do not put the cart before the horse." 
The basic meaning behind this quote is that a person should put first things first.

Today, I was reading through a book titled, "The Customer comes Second" by H. Rosenbluth. 
His basic premise is that when a company emphasizes that the customer has first priority, that company has indeed put the "cart before the horse."

Rosenbluth goes on to write that when a company overlooks its workers and focuses solely on the customer, work is done in a sub-par manner.

-I think he is right-

Think back to a time in your life (maybe it is now) when your boss/company treated you like you didn't count. 
-They never listened to your ideas.
-You were never communicated with in a respectable manner.
-Etc...

    ---Now think about how you performed?

For the vast majority of us, when we are treated poorly at work by our leaders, it reflects in our lives and in our work environment.  Soon, resentment sets in and the attitude of, "If they don't care about me...then why should I care about them" creeps in and things start to get ugly.

No doubt, if you reverse the scenario, I'd bet the family horse that if you can actually think of a place where you were treated like gold, your attitude at work was much healthier.

For leaders:

- Please understand that the better you treat your employees, the better they will treat YOUR customers.

You can accomplish this by doing some very creative yet inexpensive things:

Here are some you can try!
1.  Start "town hall meetings" This is an actual time you have built into your work week where you clear your schedule and have the team get together to touch base.  You will be surprised at how much you can learn from the workers that actually are on the floor performing.

2.  Have a monthly lunch with 1 or 2 of your workers.  Building personal relationships with your group will go miles for you.

3.  Get your workers to give you a wish list of 5-6 things that they would like to see happen at work.  Then, sit with them and the team and work on implementing their idea(s).

Start putting your workers first & watch them florish! 
                                                      Implement some of the above ideas today!

What about you?

Do you have any more creative,

yet inexpensive ideas to share with us??

Anthony & Osama: I'm just dying to know...

"We interrupt this program to give you breaking news" 

No matter what you were watching two nights ago, your eyes were glued to the TV as we all came to the understanding that Osama Bin Laden had been killed.

Then, I turn on my PC and get on FB only to find a huge mix of emotions and thoughts concerning his death.  People seemed to be divided into two categories about Osama.

Category #1:  "The Justice Seekers"

This group consists of people who felt a huge relief that the mastermind behind 911 had been finally killed.  To this group, justice was served and the thousands that fell on that terrible day had finally been vindicated.  Families, firemen, police...and the entire country that watched in horror as planes filled with crazed pilots flew into them could not be more thrilled with the news of Osama Bin Laden's death.

Category #2: "The Love Givers"

This group is filled with people who's hearts break that another person had to face the ugliness of death.  They have questions like: "How does killing another person bring about real justice?"  "What did this accomplish in the long run..other than just more violence and killing?"  Mercy and Love are the highest of values and killing only reinforces behavior like what Osama put us through on 911.  His death will only make certain that more death will happen...

There is a lot to think about in a case like the above. 
-How do you and I respond?
-How is the military and President supposed to respond?
-Can a government really govern without the use of force?
-Can love and mercy really be expressed? Even to people that threaten our Nation?

Below, I will give, what I believe to be a Biblical response to how a person should respond to Osama Bin Laden's death.

First, as a Christian, my ethical system is based on the Scripture.  The nature of God is revealed to us through it, therefore, I can appeal to it as my foundation. 
In this case, first I have to ask myself what did the perpetrator actually do.
Answer: Osama Bin Laden was responsible for the murder of thousands of men and women on September 11th. 
This being the case, there has to be accountability.
Here is where I differ from my friends in category number 2 (the love givers). 

For instance,
If a murderer was brought into a court room, was tried for his crime and also admits to the crime.  Could you imagine if the judge does anything but prosecute him to the most extreme point of the law? A judge that ignores murder would be doing the opposite of anything loving. 

- In fact. that judge would be wicked-

This is a point that I bring up when talking with the people who only emphasize the "Love of God."  I tell them that the love of God IS the very reason why law breakers like Bin Laden must be brought to justice.  In the words of my Greek brother Aristotle, "We know what justice is when we feel the wounds of injustice."

On to my second point.
I have seen an influx of Bible quotations floating around lately and they all have something in common.  They are verses about "turning cheeks" "loving your enemies" and so on.  My first comment to this contrived use of the Bible is... do your homework.  An overview of the entire Bible is called for in this case, not just a select part of the Bible, say like the red letters.  On this point, i'll clear my throat a second and let everyone know that Jesus in no way came preaching a different message than what was contained in the O.T.  Same God. Same love, mercy, & justice. 

Moving along, if you dive deep into the Bible, you will see that the role of the government is to be a blessing for those who follow the rules and a terror for those that do not.  I would go out on a limb and say that Osama Bin Laden was not a guy that followed the rules of life...generally speaking, when your profession is dedicated to killing people your not on the right side of the Law.  Therefore, the role of our President is to prevent killing...remember, that is the loving thing to do.  So when bad guys want nothing more to do than kill Americans, I say, "Do the loving thing Mr. President and prevent that from happening." 
  -Alexander Hill says it best when he states, "Doormat love eventually ruins all involved."

So my friends, the answers we come to are not always easy. 

That is why we must understand that in between the loving thing to do and the just thing to do sits the Seat of WISDOM.

One last thing...
Let me make a comment about the great country that you and I live in. 
Osama Bin Laden was given a proper Muslim burial. 
I want you to think about that for a second.  Our great enemy. The man who caused such horrific bloodshed and hurt was given a proper burial. 
Never in the history of the world has a country treated someone like Osama with such respect.  Now I ask you a question...would the same treatment be given to our soldiers?  I think not. 
All of this only goes to speak toward America's greatness.
We are the light on a shining hill. 

And it was on full display for the world with how we treated Bin Laden during his burial. 

Sometimes people call me an idealist.  Well, that is the way I know I am an American.  America is the only idealistic nation in the world. 

~Woodrow Wilson